Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Fall of Man (Excerpt) by Gwendolyn Graves

In an attempt to prevent Armageddon, IT’S CREATED!!!

When Katrina Wroth is abducted by a secretive group, she embarks on an epic journey that leads her through the bowels of hell and into the next era.

Immersed in her captor’s apocalyptic ideology, Katrina learns that they’re on crusade to bring peace to the Middle East–no matter what the cost. If she can’t prevent their misguided ploy, a scourge will befall humanity, redefining our interpretation of the word MANKIND.

Except:

As had become custom, Dr. Gerald Perkins walked home for lunch. It was an act that both he and his wife had performed together--up until recently. Meeting during their midday meal had been one of the perks of both of them working at the same college. Living just a few blocks from the school, they’d rendezvous near the Adams Administration Building and stroll the short distance home. It was a great way of getting a little exercise, sharing their day with one another, and occasionally participating in carnal acts of passion. However, for quite some time now, the soon-to-be-father had been making the trip home alone. His wife would always give one excuse or another on why she couldn’t join him: her feet hurt, she had papers to grade, or the College Dean, Richard Beauchamp, requested something of her. Like a trooper, Gerald would go home alone, prepare Helen’s meal, and present it to her on his return trip. Having no one to converse with, he struggled with finding activities to occupy his free time and usually resorted to reading: mail, magazines, anything that he could get his hands on. Although the solitude was a nice change upon occasion, the husband couldn’t help but begin to feel lonely. He questioned whether or not he and his wife were ready to take on the responsibility of raising a child. The baby wasn’t even born yet, and already it was dramatically affecting the harmony of their home. He tried not to allow his mounting concerns trouble him, but they were there, and he could not deny them. Although he didn’t share his anxiety with his wife, Gerald’s tension increased with every excuse she gave. They had been growing apart, and she hadn’t been around often enough to notice. What made things worse was the secretive research project that Helen had been working on for the past eighteen months. Gerald couldn’t understand why she adamantly refused to give him any information about the undertaking. They were married--after all--sharing their thoughts and secrets in confidence was supposed to be one of the benefits. What had started off as a tiny assignment--meant to take no more than a couple of hours a week--grew into a monster that required some all-nighters. To top it all off, she had been visiting Lilith with an unprecedentedly high frequency. Gerald supposed that it was natural for pregnant women to latch onto their mothers. He had expected being forced to visit his in-laws more than he would have preferred; however, much to his surprise, when it came down to it, he wasn’t invited. Helen had been spending every other weekend at her childhood home, leaving Gerald alone to watch classic movies and gorge on microwave popcorn doused in butter. The brooding husband hated to admit it, but he was jealous--jealous of his mother-in-law, Helen’s demanding career, and even his own unborn baby. Desperate to achieve a sense of personal accomplishment, Gerald decided that it was time to stop procrastinating and start working towards his lifelong aspiration. HE DARED TO PICK UP HIS QUILL. The English professor vowed to cease idly wasting his life and proactively follow his dreams. While engaged in the creative process, the novice writer marveled at how tempting it was to allow his narrative mimic elements from his own life and wondered if that was a mark of a neophyte. No matter what storyline he tried to explore, Gerald’s main character always seemed to be a miserable person yearning for fulfillment. Today, while eating a sandwich and checking his email, Gerald was excited to discover that an old college buddy had sent him a message. A few months earlier, the expecting couple had some embryonic fluid tests ran on Helen’s pregnancy. Although the initial results indicated that their baby was perfectly healthy, Gerald elected to get a second opinion by having a sample sent off to his friend. After reading the carefully worded message, Gerald removed his glasses and wiped them clean. Then he reread the email, making sure that he understood it correctly. Once he had validation, the troubled husband discovered a new topic to obsess over. The information was so disturbing that he elected to call in and cancel the rest of his classes for the day. He didn’t fix Helen’s lunch nor could he pick up his idea book. The devastated man sat in his recliner and stared at the wall--BLANKLY. Several hours later, the distraught husband walked into their bedroom, opened his top drawer, and removed the revolver that he had purchased for protection. Thoughts of suicide tormented him. Torn by the life or death decision, he began to pace the floor. Gerald knew that his wife would be getting home soon. Perhaps a discussion with her would help ease his anguish. He considered the possibility that he was allowing his vivid imagination to run amuck, unchecked. The beleaguered man told himself to hold on a little bit longer, Helen would make everything okay. But the emotional educator was smart enough to know that he was only fooling himself. Nothing would be okay EVER AGAIN!

****

Gwendolyn Graves is a self published author. Her first literary work is Scorned. Her second literary work is a series of novellas entitled The Fall of Man. Both titles can be purchased on Kindle.For more on Gwendolyn Graves http://gwendolyngraves.com/